You can help save a unique New Orleans legacy .....

Adopt A Tomb

Beginning in 2000, Save Our Cemeteries, Inc., the city's first non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of local cemeteries, has coordinated grants from Save America's Treasures, the National Park Service / Department of the Interior, the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation, Office of Cultural Development and the New Orleans Archdiocesan Cemeteries to restore more than 60 masonry tombs in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans' oldest burial ground. In spite of enormous effort, many of the 700+ tombs are in desperate need of repair. Some are abandoned and deteriorating rapidly in the harsh New Orleans climate. Failing old repairs are leading to more severe damage, and thieves have plundered many of the fine sculptures and decorative ironwork elements.

Adopt A Tomb is the latest phase in an on-going project to document, repair, and restore the unique above ground tombs in St. Louis Cemetery No. 1.

You Can Help! The conservation team has selected a number of deteriorated tombs, defined a scope of work for each, and estimated the cost of needed repairs. Individuals or groups can fund the rehabilitation of an entire tomb, or the cost of a single aspect of the repair. While new burials in these tombs cannot be permitted, donors will be recognized by permanent markers. Even more important, participants will be contributing to the survival of one of the city's greatest cultural, historical, and architectural treasures with the knowledge that the work will meet the highest and most modern conservation standards. Time is running out, but it is not too late to preserve this unique American place.

For more information, contact Save Our Cemeteries, Inc. at 1-888-721-7493, or visit them at http://www.saveourcemeteries.org.